One Starry Night
by theimpracticalgirl
Summary: "The girl closed her eyes, and listened to the quiet night; the rhythmic beat of the sprinkler, the crickets chirping, and the unique sound of a TARDIS materializing. The girl's eyes flew open in shock as the sound registered in her mind, her pulsing speeding up." (Inspired by a dream I had.)


A teenage girl, maybe sixteen, stood on the grassy football field in front of her high school.

It was nearing dusk, and she was the only person around, save a janitor or two cleaning inside the school. She'd ended up here after going for a walk, and was reluctant to leave just yet. With a sigh she sat down on the grass, running her hand over the collecting dampness. Behind her a sprinkler came on, showering her in cold water, but she didn't appear to mind. Sighing again, she laid down on her back, looking up at the sky, which was just becoming the velvety deep blue that she loved, speckled with stars like diamonds.

The moon was full, and shadows were cast everywhere. The trees swayed in a breeze, and their shadows reached out to her. The girl closed her eyes, and listened to the quiet night; the rhythmic beat of the sprinkler, the crickets chirping, and the unique sound of a TARDIS materializing. The girl's eyes flew open in shock as the sound registered in her mind, her pulsing speeding up. Twisting in place so that she was partially sitting up and looking behind her at the school, she saw through the windows of the music room a brief, pulsing bluish light.

The girl scrambled up, her sneakers digging into the wet grass for traction as she slipped her way across the lawn to the blacktop. She ignored the fact that she was damp, the fact that she was unprepared for the oncoming meeting. All she knew was that she had to get there to him before he slipped away from her.

She wasn't going to let that happen again.

This had happened once before. Ironically, it had been at her elementary school. In the middle of the day on a Saturday as she was getting ready for a school performance, she'd heard the sound of the materializing TARDIS over the soundtrack. Dropping the wood and tin foil sword and throwing the cardboard shield aside, her little feet had pounded down the steps leading to the emergency exit. She remembered throwing the door open to be greeted by a man with hardly any hair and large ears, wearing a leather jacket. He'd blinked at her in surprise, stashing the device with the little blue light away into a pocket before giving her a quick smile.

"Hello there." He'd said. "Thank you for opening the door." The girl had just stared at him in shock through her knight's helmet. Come to think of it, he probably wouldn't recognize her from then; she'd looked like a boy in her childish knight's costume. He'd slipped in past her, leaving her to stare after him in wonder. Having gone back to the rehearsal, a little while later the fire alarm went off and everyone scattered outside. She'd seen the man slipping off into his police box though, accompanied by an alien that looked suspiciously like the headmaster of the school.

Then he'd been too early for her to actually talk to him, but now she had a feeling inside of her that the time was right. Peering into a window, trying to see into the darkness, she glimpsed a long brown trench coat slipping through the door that lead to a pass into the gymnasium. Her side cramped, not having expected the sudden run, and she darted around the building to see the man disappearing into the gym. She crept over to the door, looking through the cracked door. The man was standing in the middle of the basketball court, slowly revolving in place and holding that device out at arm's length.

Suddenly there was a crash! The girl jumped, starting back, but she was drawn back to the crack in time to see something drop down from a raised basketball hoop onto the man. There was a shout and a snarl, and then the figures separated. The man looked warily at some form of alien being that grumbled at him in a foreign language.

"Yes, I know you're having fun." The man said, causing the girl to gasp at his voice. "You can't stay here anymore, though." He continued. The creature growled at him.

"These are children, alright? They're not food. I'm going to have to ask you to leave willingly, or I'm going to make you go." The being seemed to…Chuckle at him. The girl's eyes grew round. What did he mean? The truth hit her suddenly, causing her stomach to churn. A group of freshman had gone missing in the last month. Had they been that alien's dinner?

In the time she'd been thinking she hadn't been paying attention, and suddenly there was a shout as the door flew open, a blur crashing into her. Claws scratched at her and fangs gnashed for her face, and the girl shouted, struggling to protect herself with her arms. The being was suddenly yanked off of her, and she was able to see the thing for the first time. She hurriedly got up, and appeared to run off, leaving the man to face the being. They were in a stand-off again, and just as the alien lunged at the man there was a shout, and water suddenly spurted out of a hose onto the alien.

With a strangled scream of outrage the thing began to bubble. "Hit the deck!" The girl shouted, diving behind the steps that lead up to the music room. The man did the same, and covered her some with his coat. A moment later the creature exploded, showering the area with sizzling chunks of grossness. The man hurriedly shook his coat free of any bits before they could eat through the fabric. The girl had jumped over the steps and was standing a bit away in the moonlight, checking the damage. She'd been lucky and had gotten off easy.

The man approached her, his hands in his pants' pockets. "That was quick thinking." He remarked. The girl paused and looked over at him. "How did you know that it was allergic to water?" After a moment she hesitantly replied to him.

"I found out when I fell into a pool with one." She murmured. He arched an eyebrow at her. That was one way to find out.

"Are you alright?" He asked her. "It didn't hurt you too bad?" She shook her head, and gave him a shy smile. The man looked up at the sky before returning his attention to her. "What are you doing out so late? It's almost eight at night. Your family will be missing you." The girl looked away.

"I don't really have a family." She said in a hushed tone so soft it was almost a murmur. "I live at the girls' home." He nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry…" He said sincerely. "I'm the Doctor, by the way. What's your name?"

The girl looked at him in mild shock for a moment. This was it! This was the moment she'd been waiting for her whole life. Raising her head in defiance of her nervousness, she put her hands into her jeans' pockets, mimicking his pose. "My name's Jenny." She said boldly. He took a step back. Why, though? He'd never met this girl before. Had he, though? Maybe it was the name that affected him. Upon studying her in the moonlight, however, he knew inside of him that it wasn't just that. Her pale blonde hair gleamed in the moonlight, and she had a familiar aura around her that reminded him of…No, that was impossible.

"…It's nice to meet you, Jenny." He finally said. Jenny looked slightly crestfallen. That wasn't the reaction she'd been looking for.

"I've met you before, you know." She said, surprising him again.

"Have you?" The girl nodded.

"I was only seven at the time. I believe I was wearing a tin foil knight's costume." The Doctor grinned. Oh, yes, he remembered her. It was hard to forget a little knight opening a door for him that he was having trouble using his Sonic on. "I think I like you like this a bit better than the other way, though." She had no problem wondering why.

"Yes…Well, I do that." It was interesting that she was taking the fact that he was a completely different person than the time she'd first seen him. She looked away.

"My dad will be worrying about me." She murmured. Blinking once in surprise, he nodded.

"It was nice meeting you again." He said as she began walking away. With one last look at her as she rounded a corner, he started up the steps to the music room. The Doctor paused, however, once his foot touched the top step. Hadn't she said that she lived at the girls' home? He was just turning around when he heard her returning. Jenny leaned against a pole and crossed her arms, giving him a cheeky smile.

"Were you worried?" She asked him. He looked at her in shock, his mouth opening slightly. Something clicked into place in his mind as the moonlight showed him her familiar blue eyes, and a moment later he was down the steps, his long coat billowing behind him as he engulfed her in an embrace.

Jenny was startled, but a moment later she buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around him. "Jenny, is it really you?" He murmured. "How can it be?" He stroked her hair. The girl struggled to keep her emotions under control, her hearts pounding in her chest.

"It was the Source." She choked out into the fabric of his jacket. "It really was the Breath of Life, Dad. It brought me back." Jenny stepped away from him, rubbing at her eyes with her hands. He moved them away and studied her face, a look of wonder on his own.

"You're so young." He said. "You regenerated?" The girl shrugged a shoulder.

"Sort of, I suppose. One day I fell from my crashing ship, and when I woke up I was a toddler. I look the same, though." Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. The Doctor laughed, and held her against him again. His daughter was alive!

Suddenly he picked her up and swung her around in a circle, and Jenny shrieked in surprise and delight. Setting her down, he crouched some to look her face to face. "Come with me." His daughter blinked at her.

"What?" She squeaked out. "Do you really mean it?" He chuckled, and ruffled her hair.

"Of course I do. I've made this offer before, have I not?" Tears blurred her vision, and she ducked her head, nodding.

"Yeah…" Rising, the Doctor held his hand out, and she took it. Together they went into the music room, and the TARDIS left the school with another passenger. When the air cleared, it was silent again in the world, the stars shining down on a world that was a little bit more complete.

(I'd much appreciated a review once you're done reading as feedback on my writing.)


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